A Web of LOVE
by mariposafria
Summary: An unconventional love story.  This Valentine's Day Sam promises Mercedes that he will never leave her again. Sam never breaks a promise, and even after the darkness falls, come what may he will love her forever. A ridiculously long one-shot.


**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything, not the show, the characters, nada….**

**Title: An Endless Web of…LOVE**

**Setting: Season 3, an unconventional Valentine's Day. No real spoilers.**

**Warnings: Don't be fooled, y'all will probably hate me by the end. **

**Dedication: This is for Emzjuk & Jadziwine for reminding me (again) why I do this and for loving the story, hairy warts and all.**

* * *

><p><strong>February 14, 2012<strong>

_I Wanna dance with somebody_

_I wanna feel the heat with somebody_

_Yeah! Wanna dance with somebody_

_With somebody who loves me…_

They aren't together, not yet anyway, and she still can't keep her eyes from finding his…

Mercedes is all smiles twirling in between Santana and Brittany on the dance floor belting out another favorite song with one of her favorite duet partners. Sam tries to hide the small smile that is pulling at the side of his mouth as he watches her get yanked once more into a very close almost "grindy" looking embrace between her Troubletones sisters. Everywhere he looks he's surrounded by love. People in love. People who want to be in love. People giving love. People basking in love.

Mercedes shoots him a look over Santana's shoulder, causing the other girl to turn and narrow her eyes at him. "Let Trouty Mouth stew a little longer. His sourpuss isn't fooling anybody."

"Should I go over and make him at least come out and dance?"

Shimmying her way towards Mercedes, Santana shakes her head no. "We all know that you broke up with Shane yesterday. If he wants to dance he'll dance. Besides, I can see the way he's looking at you. Let us have you for tonight, he gets you for forever."

Mercedes laughs at her friend, and then yips in surprise as Brittany slaps her on the backside. Looking away quickly before he forgets to brood, and accidentally joins in with the friendly and more than friendly love-fest, Sam turns his head. He can see Rory dip Sugar, causing her to laugh and come up swinging as he almost loses his balance. Tina and Mike are swaying, as per usual, to the music only they can hear, moving much too slow for the dance song playing. Finn is desperately trying to dance and not step on a giggling Rachel in the process.

It's all just a little too much for him. On lonely hearts club night, he is the only lonely heart. Even Quinn is being spun in endless circles on Artie's lap. He knows that tomorrow everything will change. He just has to be patient. He rises from his seat and heads quietly for the door. Just outside he feels a hand on his shoulder. "Finn?"

"Are you running away?"

"No. It's just hard being so close and still so far. Know what I mean? Maybe she's not ready to jump into another relationship right after, her…" Sam lets the end of his sentence fall off as he stands there in the cold night, looking up at the stars.

"Dude, you can't give up now!" Finn playfully punches Sam in the shoulder. "She loves you man, we all know that. _You_ know that." He tries to pull Sam back inside. "C'mon, teach me some of those 'white chocolate' moves on the dance floor."

Giving Finn a half hearted chuckle, Sam says, "I don't think you're ready for that quite yet." Running out of smiles for his friend, Sam adds, "She may love me and I know I love her, but maybe it's just not enough."

Putting on his serious pep talk face and turning Sam towards him with two large hands on his shoulders, Finn answers with, "It was enough to get you back here. It was enough to remind her how to smile that smile we haven't seen since the summer…_lovin'_." Finn gives Sam a knowing look. "You know I'm right."

"Maybe, but I need to _think_, in a place that isn't pink and covered in flowers and hearts. Is that okay with you?"

Finn nods his head. "You wanna ride?"

"No, thanks man. You should get back inside to Rachel."

Just before turning to go back inside, Finn says, "Just go and talk to her. I can't handle seeing grown men cry."

"I'm not crying; I'm brooding. It's like man-crying without the tears. It totally worked for that sparkly guy." Sam can't even look over as Finn snorts. "But I can't, she asked for a little space and I can give her tonight."

Finn has opened the door to Breadstixs, and the sound of the music and festivities can be heard, still in full swing. "All I'm saying is that she has to go home sometime, Spiderman." Like a laser, Sam's green eyes connect with Finn's. He gives him a good natured chuckle and an exaggerated eyebrow wiggle. "What? I'm just sayin."

"See ya tomorrow Finn." And with that, Finn returns to the party.

Smiling his first real smile of the night, Sam walks away from the rowdiness inside of the restaurant, whistling the theme song from Harry Potter.

* * *

><p><strong>February 15, 2010<strong>

Now Mercedes Jones is not a morning person. A diva needs her beauty sleep, but try as hard as she may, she can't seem to settle down. Blowing out a bang ruffling breath in frustration, she opens her eyes to check the time on her alarm clock. Instead of the Avatar blue numbers of the digital clock face she is greeted by the amused sea green eyes of Sam Evans.

Using one hand to save him from her 'it's almost morning breath', she gasps out in surprise, "Sam! What are you doing here?"

Leaning down so that he is even closer to her face, he says, "Watching you sleep. I thought girls like that kind of thing."

"_No_, it's kinda creepy. That stuff only works in the movies." Sitting up and crossing her legs in front of her, she shakes her head at him. "Actually, I'm glad you're here. I had the weirdest dream nightmare idunno thing." She flicks her fingers in the air as if she's trying to wave away her remembered heebie-jeebies. Placing one dramatic hand over her heart, she says, "I woke up in the middle of the night because I totally felt like my heart had skipped fifteen beats."

Mirroring her action, spreading his large, long fingers across his heart, he raises his chin towards her. He gives her a smile that chases the last of the bad feelings away. "Seems to be doing alright now." Finally realizing that this is actually happening, she gives him a suddenly shy smile. His eyes are shining brightly in the early morning light. He purses his lips, as if he is pondering some great mystery. "My question is, are we?"

Mercedes flops back down on her bed, diving under the covers, just as much to hide from the cold that has invaded her room by the open window as the weight behind Sam's eyes. Poking her head out, she whispers, "I feel so bad right now. I broke up with him on Valentine's Day. I tried so hard to wait, to not hurt him once I made up my mind, but there was just no way around it." She can feel the tears prickling the back of her eyes. "You know I loved him right?" Sam nods. "I did, in my own way." She sits up once more, wrapping her blanket around her. "I didn't mean to go and start loving someone else. I thought that you had left me. That I'd never see you again."

"I know. I thought the same thing." He moves to join her on the bed, but she holds up her hand. If he joined her, she'd never get out what it is she has to say. Reluctantly, he sits back down in the chair across from her.

"You have to acknowledge that Shane did my heart good. I had never felt the way you made me feel before in my life. It was like I could feel my wings rustling and before I got to spread them, I lost my wind. I know it sounds silly, but he really did help me finish _finding me_. But…and we knew this was coming…but…" She looks at him, giving him back a look every bit as intense as those looks he's been giving her since he stepped foot back in William McKinley. She clears her throat, "But…

"It was always mine."

"Always." She crinkles her face at him. "Sam, what are you doing here?"

"I had to see you."

Looking down, but still able to see him through her lashes, she asks, "And you couldn't wait until tomorrow?"

Rubbing his hands together, he leans down, close to her face, and says, "No. I couldn't wait. They say 'the heart wants what the heart wants' and I couldn't wait, not one more day, not even a few more hours."

Wanting this but still not ready, Mercedes slips from her bed shaking her head at his declaration as she closes her open bedroom window. "Well _Spiderman_, the front door is safer."

He laughs quietly. "Yeah, but then I'd have to explain to your daddy_ and his shotgun _just what was so damn important at 2:15 in the morning." Laughing a little harder, he adds, "Something tells me that he just wouldn't understand."

Mercedes giggles. "Is it wrong that I don't want to go to school tomorrow?"

"You mean today?"

"Today." She throws her stuffed sock monkey at him for being such a cheeky monkey. "You know what I mean. I just want to be with you. I mean, you've been back for a minute, but it's different now, and I…I feel like I never got the chance to really welcome you back."

He looks at her closely, and asks innocently, "Is that what you want to spend all day doing? Welcoming me back?" Unable to resist, he licks his bottom lip slowly with his tongue, and gives her what only can be interpreted as sexy bedroom eyes.

Smiling with her eyes, her face, her body, her everything, Mercedes very quietly answers, "Maybe."

A look of almost pain crosses Sam's face. "You have no idea how hard this is for me to say, but no." She shakes her head slowly. "No. We can't, I want to. Baby you _know_ I want to, but you have got to go to school."

She is giving him her best pouty-puppy-dog face. "Don't you have to go to school too?"

"I should, but I've been out all night, up all night, and—". He looks towards the door and then back at Mercedes. They can both hear her parents moving in the house.

Mercedes looks quickly at her alarm clock on the dresser. "Oh my goodness Sam, look at the time. I'm supposed to be getting up in just a few minutes."

Sam can see the sunlight starting to peek through the window. "I swear, I blink and it feels like hours have just slipped away."

Reaching for her cell phone, and then thinking better of it, Mercedes says, "What about Kurt and Finn? They must be worried sick."

"Nah, Finn is the one who told me to come over here and talk to you in the first place. He knew the real reason I agreed to come back." Dropping to his knees, he says, "The real reason I'm not leaving again." He takes her hand in his and it sends chills up her arm. "Mercedes, I promise that I will always love you and that I am not leaving again."

She pats the top of his hand. "That's sweet, but you can't say that. We're young and life just happens. You didn't want to leave the first time, remember?"

Very seriously, he says, "I mean it. You're stuck with me."

Mercedes pulls her hands from his in mock terror. "You're not gonna do something stupid, like propose to me are you?"

Sam laughs so hard that he almost chokes. "No." Still coughing loudly, he chokes out, "No."

"Good." She adds her own ringing laughter to Sam's. "I—I would hate to—te"

"Mercedes? Are you up?"

Looking towards the door, Mercedes shouts, "No Mom, not really." Still laughing, she says, "I'm definitely still dreaming."

Sam stands up and heads for the window. "I gotta go."

"Do you want me to pick you up on the corner?" Cue more Cedes' giggles.

"No, but I'll be in glee though."

He reaches out and slides his hand along the side of her face. She closes her eyes, savoring the feel of his fingers. She jumps back when her mom bangs on the door. Mercedes rushes over to keep her mom from opening the door and discovering her early morning visitor. After assuring her mother that she is in fact, awake, Mercedes turns back around. Sam is gone, and once again she has to go over and close the window.

…oOo…

"Mercedes!"

Looking up from her locker, Mercedes is only a little bit surprised to see Finn approach. "Hi Finn, you alright?"

Once he reaches her, he gets awkward, unsure how to ask what he needs to ask without it coming off all wrong. But then he remembers that he is Finn and over thinking was never a problem for him. He did much better with the 'stick foot in mouth and work it back out' approach. "I'm okay. Uhh, you haven't by any chance seen Sam have you?" Still half avoiding her eyes, he continues with, "We—we covered for him last night, but I…I was just wondering if you'd seen him, that's all."

"I know you know exactly where he was, seeing as how you were the one who told him to come." Finn grins at her. "Not a word about this to _anybody,_ but I woke up at the buttcrack of dawn and he's just sitting there staring at me. Fool climbed in the window in the middle of the night."

Looking around conspiratorially before leaning in close, Finn whispers, "Are you two…?"

"Back together?" Mercedes slams her locker shut, motioning with her head for Finn to follow. "Yeah, I guess we are. You know we never actually got around to talking about it in official terms. We just sort of fell in where we left off."

"I just bet you did." Finn doesn't even flinch when she reaches up to smack the back of his head. He totally deserved it.

Glancing down the hall, Mercedes' eyes grow wide, and she can practically hear the theme music of the Wicked Witch of the West as Kurt stalks towards them in an all black get-up, tall boots, and matching non-pointy hat. "Well?" Finn looks a bit confused. "Where is he?"

Clearing his throat and schooling his expression, Finn says, "Like I told you, he was with Mercedes all night."

Kurt turns slowly on his heel, turning to look at Mercedes without actually turning his neck in the process. She looks at the ceiling, very interested in the tiles. "Fine, details can wait. Where is he now?"

Still avoiding eye contact, Mercedes offers him a little shrug, saying, "Probably sleeping on your couch." Fighting a smile, she says, "He was tired but he said he'll be in glee."

Kurt latches onto her forearm with a firm, pale, perfectly manicured hand. Mercedes watches as Kurt's chest rises at least two inches as he draws in a huge breath of air, preparing to bombard her with at least the first twelve of the ninety-nine questions floating around in his head.

_Brrrriiinnnnnggggg…_

"Bye Kurt, I gotta get to class."

He stands there, mouth slightly open, eyes flaring an even more intense blue than usual. Stomping his boot in frustration, he shouts at her quickly receding figure, "I'll get you my pretty!" He hears Finn start to laugh, and it makes him smile just a bit to hear Finn's laughter suddenly stop with one flick of his blue eyes.

…oOo…

"Well at least you're here early, considering you skipped out on all of your other classes today." Sam looks up, shocked out of his thoughts by Finn's arrival in the choir room. "Uh, you didn't even bother to change your clothes? I'd say ultimate walk of shame 'cept it's Mercedes and she'd hurt me if she ever found out."

Sitting up in his seat, Sam looks at Finn, a little puzzled. "Didn't know you cared that much Hudson."

Sliding into the seat two down from him, Finn answers with, "About Mercedes or about you? Scratch that. You know I care, just answer the question."

"I got back to the house, closed my eyes for just a second, and all of a sudden it's haul ass time or I'd miss glee. And I can't miss today or else Mercedes would hurt _me _since I just convinced her to sing a duet with me today."

"Sappy love song?" Sam nods quickly. "Well then I guess that really makes it official. As if we couldn't see it coming."

The other gleeks quickly file into the room, with everyone unconsciously leaving the seat next to Sam empty, saving it for Mercedes. She is one of the last ones to enter, and after pretending to first sit by Sugar, just to mess with him, she goes and takes her seat next to Sam. As she sits she can hear Tina whisper, "Is Sam wearing his clothes from last night?" Sam inches down in his seat. Mike and all of the other dudes in the room know the look now plastered on his face.

Mike whispers back, "Tina, leave him alone. They _just_ got back together." She rolls her eyes and smiles at Quinn, who had turned around to hear the conversation. Mike gives her the same stern look that he's just given Tina. She turns back around, clearly amused.

Mr. Schue enters the room, and immediately goes to the erase board. Before he can draw more than one line, Mercedes says, "Mr. Schue, last week Sam and I weren't allowed to really talk to each other, and that included singing with each other. We'd like to make up for it today, if you don't mind."

He turns around and gives Sam a mini stink-eye. "Sam, nice of you to join us, for your last class of the day." Scattered snickers can be heard. Sam just smiles his award winning 'now just how upset can you really be at _this_ face' face. Laying down his dry erase marker in defeat, Mr. Schue says, "Of course you can sing. Get on up here." He rubs his hands together and then along the sides of his arms before taking a seat.

"Un-uh, Mr. Schue. You needs to close the window first." She whispers to Brittany, "Seriously, my nips are practically nipcicles."

Artie mutters, "I'm not sure I see the problem." Tapping a finger on the end of his nose he says, "Maybe if you turned another 45 degrees to the left or so…" Puck shamelessly leans down and offers Artie his fist. Santana shoots them both a full-on stink-eye.

Sam and Mercedes come forward, with her carrying his guitar, while Mr. Schue gets up and closes the window. As he sits down again he asks, "Mercedes, you play the guitar now?"

Smiling that smile that they hadn't really seen since Sam's return, she answers with, "A little bit, since this summer actually, but I sorta blocked it out until now." She looks over her should at Sam, who lays his fingers alongside hers on the neck of the guitar.

"Over and over I look in your eyes; you are all I desire; you have captured me; I want to hold you; I want to be close to you; I never want to let go…."

…_oOo…BEGIN Flashback to one of those Summer Nights (Days in this case)…oOo…_

"Hey I like that song!" Sam tries to reach for the iPod, but Mercedes maneuvers it out of his reach.

"Well I don't." Hearing the next song, Brighter than the Sun, also results in an instant roll of her eyes. "I don't like this one either."

"Just what do you have against Jason Miraz or Colbie Callait?"

"Nothing, talentless hacks."

Sam frowns and asks, "Excuse me?"

Fingers nervously plucking away in her lap, Mercedes says icily, "You heard me. Beach bum and I dunno, YouTube girl."

Sounding just a trifle put-off, Sam says, "Uhhh, I auditioned with Billionaire."

Mercedes' fingers stop moving momentarily in her lap as she looks up at him. "And?"

Still frowning, Sam says, "And? And are calling me a talentless hack or a beach bum?"

"Both!" Looking up into the bright blue cloudless sky, she retracts her insult. _"Neither._" She looks away, hearing just how stupid-crazy she sounds.

"And then I… hold up." Sam assumes his version of the thinking man pose. (Being shirtless helps him totally sell the look.) Testing out his theory, Sam says, "I guess this means that Dirty Dancing is off of the MJ approved movie list too?"

Without looking back at him, he can hear her mutter, "Damn right it is."

Hand still under his chin, he asks with raised brow, "Are you, Ms. Mercedes Diva Jones, jealous?"

She bombs him with the hundreds of daisy petals that had been collecting in her lap from her unconscious and apparently unstoppable urge to play 'he loves me, he loves me not' with every flower she could reach from their picnic blanket spread out in their spot by the lake. Her face is in total conflict with the tone her voice takes. Her face is smiling at his lightly tanned bepetaled skin, while her divatude is saying, "I have _nothing, _absolutely _nothing_ to be jealous of."

Shaking his head the way a dog would throw off water, managing in the process to fling most of the petals from his hair back at her, he says, "I cannot believe that you are jealous of Quinn." He gets on all fours and begins crawling towards her.

Looking out across the calm waters of the lake, she says quietly, "I am not jealous of Quinn." She repeats the statement silently as further affirmation. Looking at him with his hair all askew, chest covered in sticky white petals, she almost smiles when she says, "I just don't need to be reminded of every little thing that you got a chance to do with Quinn that, well let's face it; we probably won't get to do."

Flicking errant petals off of his cheeks and chest, he says in an overly casual (and hopefully non-embarrassing for her tone), "Like duets in school and for competition?" She nods her head. As he moves closer he runs a light teasing finger along the sides of her exposed legs. He is now crouching over her legs, face just inches from hers. She smiles and gently removes one stubborn petal that is still resting on his right eyelid. "We can work on a duet for class. I mean we aren't going to keep us a secret forever? Just the summer, and then I get to proclaim it on morning announcements, right?" She leans forward and rests her forehead against his. He takes his hand and lifts her chin, giving her a soft kiss. "Right?"

She nods in agreement, repeating softly, "Right." After a small quiet moment, she asks, "Is it wrong that I want to play the guitar too?" He cocks his head to the side, giving her a lopsided grin in the process. "It's stupid right?" He slowly shakes his head no. "I just…" She continues in a rush. "I like to look at your hands when you play, and I like the idea of us playing together."

"I'd love to."

But she's not really listening, still too wrapped up in the notion that she can still look at Quinn and get jealous. This time though it's not about being a cheerleader or being popular, but over Sam, something she swore to herself that she wouldn't do. "I know it's—s" Sam cuts off her thought with a kiss, using it and his leverage to lay her back down on the blanket. Breaking from the kiss with a breathy sigh, she says, "You will?"

He nods yes as he plucks a daisy and twirls it along the side of her face. "Only on one condition though."

Lifting up her head enough for him to slide his arm under it, she nestles alongside his body. "What condition?"

Running the daisy from her temple, to her cheek, along her chin, and then down to her décolletage, he leans down and whispers in her ear, "That we start the official lessons…tomorrow." She laughs and tries to push him away with her hand, but he's already wrapped his free arm around her waist, the tickling daisy resting on the area a few inches below her décolletage.

…_oOo…END Flashback to one of those Summer Nights (Days in this case)…oOo…_

"…Could I, could I have this kiss forever, forever."

Rachel is the first one out of her seat applauding.

"Wow Mercedes, that was way better than the 3 chords I did last year." Quinn does a mock bow to Mercedes' superior guitar skills.

She answers shyly with, "Sam is a really good teacher."

"Get that Trouty!" Mercedes glares at Santana, who is shameless to very the end. Brittany whispers that she can see the love as she nudges Santana with her shoulder.

As people start to get out of their seats, Sam steps back so that Mercedes can receive the well deserved praise. "Mr. Schue, can I go and talk to my other teachers about me missing class?" Mr. Schue just nods yes.

As she watches him disappear out of the door, Mercedes shouts, "Sam, don't forget!"

Sam pokes his blonde head back into the classroom one last time. "I won't, we have a date with the moonlight by the lake." She gives him _his smile_ and a tiny little wave.

…oOo…

Huddled under a blanket next to Sam, Mercedes laughs as she shivers and says, "I guess we really do need another spot for the winter. I texted Kurt to give you a sleeping bag, but…I guess he didn't get it in time."

"We could always just go and sit in your car."

Looking at him, she says, "Now where is the romance in that?" Daring to extend one gloved finger out to point up, she says, "Can we lie on our backs and look at the stars, allowing you to seduce me with your astronomy skills _from inside of my car_?" She jerks her head slightly as a soft little snowflake drifts down out of the night sky. "Well while we can still see them anyway?"

"No."

"Can we lie on our backs and share our first kiss in the snow, _inside of my car_?"

"No."

"Well then, we stay out here until the car ups its romantic contribution." She flips the edge of the blanket over her head as if that ended the discussion.

In a very quiet voice, Sam says, "I can think of a lot of ways to up the romantic contribution of the car."

She elbows him in the ribs. "Sam, that's not romance! I want, no, I _need_ romance. Somehow or other, despite having two guys falling for me, I managed to be alone, _again_, on Valentine's Day. This is my do over."

"Well I can tell you this; there won't be any romance at all if my…_junk_." The look she levels at him is beyond priceless. "What? If falls off cuz it's so damn cold, you'll be singing a whole different tune." She closes her eyes, rubbing them with the pads of her fingers, not even bothering to hide the pitiful annoyance on her face as he continues with, "Come to think of it so will I."

"That's it. One more unromantic comment like that, and I'm kicking you out from under my blanket."

Sam pleads, "Baby, I am trying to _save_ the romance…and my…"

"Don't you say it!"

"Junk." True to her word Mercedes executes a little roll that wraps the top blanket only around her, leaving Sam to fend for himself. He gives her an exasperated look. "Mercedes, c'mon, let's go to the car."

"No. All of a sudden I feel perfectly warm." She quirks her eyebrow at him. Her triumphant look only lasts a few moments before she unwraps the blanket and offers to let him back in. He shakes his head no. "I was just joking, you know that. You don't need my blanket to keep you warm?"

Turning on his back, he shakes his head no. "I don't really feel all that cold." Rolling to his side, he looks at her and smiles. "I get…other stuff from you that keeps me warm."

Rolling her eyes at the naughty mess he's probably thinking of, Mercedes cautiously asks, "Like what?"

"Woman, fix that look on your face. I'm not talking about that, although that stuff is pretty good too." He slides under the blanket with her and waits until her face is sufficiently adjusted before continuing. "I know we didn't have a lot of time together, but we made so many wonderful memories. There were nights after I left, where the only thing that made me smile was you. I just had to think of your eyes, which made me think of your face, which made me think of your smile, which made me think of your laugh, which made me think of the way you would lay your hand on my chest as you laughed so hard you'd almost double over, which made me think of…well, your most glorious of assets, which made me think of that dress you wore on the Fourth of July, which made me think of how kissing you is better than fireworks, which made think of…other things."

"Ahhhh, my romance has arrived." She smiles a sweet smile that doesn't show any teeth in that dim space between them, but to Sam, shows everything else.

"And it's never the same. It always starts with your eyes, but those few months gave me a million different ways to trace our love." Tapping a light finger over his heart, he says, "I always felt a pull to come back. Even after I found out that you had moved on."

Mercedes snorts. "I hate that phrase. I may have had a new boyfriend, but I never really moved on." She taps a finger over her heart. "I always felt a pull too, even after…"

"I know."

"So, where does the look in my eyes take you this time?"

Sam slides in closer to her face. "The tilt-a-whirl." He drops his head slightly, still rolling his eyes up to catch hers. He can hear her faint giggle. "Remember that day Baby? It was about a million degrees warmer than it is now and it was on that day that I discovered two incredibly important facts about you."

"What?"

"Number one, you don't do so good when it's that hot, but I can't complain because watching you eat all of those popsicles, in my mind at least, made up for it all." Sam pauses to snicker as her face registers embarrassed shock, before quickly changing to coy diva. "Number two, surprisingly the thing that you were most afraid of that day was the tilt-a-whirl."

"But you changed all of that didn't you."

He nods his head. "Yes I did. You remember what I told you?"

Looking up and to the right, Mercedes thinks back to that hot day at the State Fair. "You said to focus on one thing. Something constant that would always be there, and that no matter what else happened, the rest of the world could fall away and I would still be alright." Looking at his bright green eyes, she can't keep her lips from spreading into a wide grin. "And then I turned to you. You held my hand, wrapped your arm around me, and I just looked into your eyes. They never wavered, not once. Even when I squeezed your hand so hard I swear that I heard something crack."

Sam's unwavering green eyes were once again staring intently into hers as the world fell away around them. "Don't blink."

Swallowing hard, she whispers, "I'll try not to. I don't want to miss a thing."

But, eventually under that blanket, in the quietly falling snow, her lids grow heavy and finally close. Sam waits.

* * *

><p><strong>February 16, 2010<strong>

The next time Mercedes opens her eyes, she sees two things. The first things of course are Sam's green eyes. The second is the sun, well up in the sky. They are late, very late. If they hurried, they just might make Glee, hardly worth it, but she didn't like to cut class if she could help it. "Sam, you should have woken me sooner." She just grabs his hand and they run.

Ask her how she got from their lakeside spot to school, and she couldn't tell you.

Ask her how she knew that class was is the auditorium, and she couldn't tell you.

One minute she is brushing snow off of her blanket with Sam and the next they are there. She can see everyone onstage, just walking around. She hangs back in the wings, hesitant to come out. "What? What's wrong Mercedes?"

She looks down in dismay at her clothes. "Everyone is gonna know that we were together. They're going to think that we…_you know_!"

He starts to smile, and then quickly gets serious as the 'gravity' of the situation hits him. "They won't think that."

They both can hear Tina, queen of the rumor mill, asking Sugar, "Did you hear about Mercedes and Sam?"

She shrinks a little, and points as she mouths 'I told you so'. Sam swallows another smile and says, "Apparently you're right, they're totally going to think that." He looks at her and shrugs. "So what?"

"I just broke up with Shane. I'm not a two timing hoe, remember?"

Sam places his hands on her shoulders, touching his forehead to hers. "No, but just because you're with me now doesn't mean that you are. It just says that you follow your heart."

They hear Kurt say, "I just can't believe it."

Mercedes rolls her eyes, "He can't believe it? Please, last night we just slept. Not slept together!"

Even Finn can be heard saying, "I know that there are a lot of things that I don't understand, but this doesn't make sense does it?"

Mercedes buries her face against Sam's neck. "Oh my goodness, even Finn is out there talking about us? What doesn't make sense? He's the one who sent you to me in the first place. What did he expect to happen? Not that THAT happened, but I'm just saying." She can feel the quiet rumble of Sam's laughter shaking his chest beneath her face. "It's not funny."

Quinn's soft voice can be heard next, asking, "What was she thinking?"

Mercedes straightens up, and takes a step back from Sam's embrace. "Et tu Quinn? Okay, walk of shame time. I am not pregnant, and I haven't done anything…in a while…that would get me pregnant. Time to nip this foolishness in the bud." She turns on her heels and strides through the curtain, leaving Sam alone backstage.

Only Brittany seems to notice her arrival.

Everyone is standing there in a giant circle. Everyone is holding someone's hand. Mercedes is standing just behind Kurt and Blaine. She's about to set the record straight, but she can see that Kurt is crying, taking the bluster out of her divatude. "Kurt, what's wrong?"

"This is all my fault." All eyes turn to him. "I got a text from her and I just ignored it."

Mercedes answers him with, "That's okay, I had blankets and Sam to keep me warm."

Rachel walks over to Kurt and pulls him into a huge hug. "No. This is all my fault. I was the one who filled her head with all of that stupid talk about endless love. Maybe she knew before we did and…a—and…" Rachel can't complete her sentence, instead burying her head into Kurt's shoulder.

"Huh? I love your ramblings about love and stuff." Brittany looks at her again, and frowns.

"It's actually 100% all my fault." Finn takes a step into the circle. "But unlike every other time that I screw something up, I can't come up with some crazy scheme to fix it."

Shaking her head, Santana takes a step towards him. "What did you do Finn?" She takes another step forward.

Mercedes takes a step back, away from the group. Sam is standing beside her, holding her hand. She looks at him. He whispers, "Don't blink." A thin tendril of thought, something she should know but somehow didn't, starts to tug at the back of her mind. It's still too far away for her to figure out. Santana's screaming voice makes her forget that she is trying to remember something anyway.

Santana is now standing toe to toe with Finn in the center of the circle, and everyone but Brittany has pulled away. "I asked you a QUESTION! WHAT did you DO?"

Finn is struggling to answer, not because he is afraid, but because it hurts to answer. He closes his eyes and tears start to flow down his face. He's shaking as he slowly opens his eyes and says, "I was the one who told him to go and see her the night of the dance. I let him walk away."

_SWACK! _

For the second time that year Santana Lopez smacks Finn Hudson across the face. This time she hits him hard enough to leave a massive red handprint. "You—you…how could you be so stupid Finn?" Finn doesn't back away as she starts to pound his chest with her fists. "You just let him leave!"

"Santana, I—I'm so sorry. I didn't know."

Everyone is mesmerized as they watch her pummel Finn with blow after blow. As they listen to her shouting over and over again, "This is all your fault. How could you do this?" It had to hurt. Santana is hitting him as hard as she can, but like a rock, Finn just stands there and takes it. No one else moves to help him or pull her away.

Pulling away suddenly, she stops. In a voice that is just above a hoarse whisper, Santana says, "It's not really your fault Finn." She slowly turns her red bloodshot eyes around the circle. "You guys…" She takes in a huge breath, and releases it in a tear stained rush as she says, "It's my fault. She wanted to dance with him and I told her that he could wait until tomorrow." Santana starts to shake her head from side to side. "But I didn't know…I didn't know." Looking at Finn, she mouths 'sorry'.

_SWACK!_

Santana has just smacked _herself_ so hard that she looks stunned. Finn grabs her wrists before she can do it again. "Let me go! I can't even feel it." Slowly she repeats, "I can't even feel it." He just shakes his head and wraps his arms around her. Even mashed against Finn's chest by his bear hug, everyone can still hear her saying "It's all my fault."

"It's nobody's fault." As one the club turns to watch Mr. Schue walking up the aisle, holding Ms. Pillsbury's hand. "I figured that I'd find you all here." They climb up on stage to join the kids.

"Are you going to suspend me?"

Letting out a long hard sigh, Mr. Schue says wearily, "No Santana, you're not in any trouble."

Still not ready to let go of Finn, she asks, "What are we gonna do?"

He smiles slowly. "What we always do. We're gonna sing."

Shaking his head, Mike says, "No, no way. I can't sing. Not like this. Not about this." Tina pulls him into another hug that is marked with sobbing.

Artie speaks up next. "No. What's the point? Not without our LBD. She was our heart."

He looks at Puck who just groans and says, "Why'd you have to go and say that…man…I. Just." He slides to his knees and puts his head on Artie's lap. He doesn't care how he looks; he just wants to feel better.

They all just want to feel better.

_LBD._ Despite feeling like she was trapped in an episode of the Twilight Zone, Mercedes warms when she hears her secret nickname. _LBD. _Amid all of the drama, the confusion starts to fall away. She begins to navigate her way around the pain, frustration, and anger, and she starts to hone in on the love. _LBD._

…_oOo…BEGIN Flashback (The morning after Rachel Berry House Party Train Wreck Extravaganza)…oOo…_

"Why am here so early?"

Puck looks over at Mercedes, who is still so messed up from the night before that she sits down first in Artie's lap, before a weird look crossed her face and she jumped up and moved to the chair she had been aiming for. Afraid that laughing would really make his ears bleed, he says calmly, "Because girl, you are tore up from the flo' up."

Mercedes, not a seasoned drunk like Puck, does laugh and immediately regrets it. Holding her head to keep it from spinning, she says, "Boy don't make me laugh again." She tries to push the threat of bodily harm into her face, and fails, only managing to communicate 'still hung over'.

Artie's head is hanging down so far he keeps pitching forward, like he's going to fall out of his chair. Righting himself, he holds up one fist. "I'm skipping glee, who's with me?" After three tries, Puck connects with Artie.

They both look over at Mercedes. "I'm not and neither are y'all. If I have to sit through _that_ class, like _this_, and watch Mr. Schue catch a buzz off of those dry erase markers and listen to the constant whine of Rachel's voice coming up with number after number after number of musical selection that I don't wanna sing for some stupid assembly that I don't wanna go to in the first place, then so do you." Under her breath she mutters, "You bitches must be trippin."

"Oh no! What happened to my happy drunk?"

Cutting her eyes at Artie, she replies flatly, "She is _not_ a morning person."

Brows raised, Puck asks, "Seriously though, did you just call us little bitches?"

Swiveling her neck to look at him, she sucks hard against her teeth and says, "No."

"That's what I—t"

"I just called you bitches. But if you want to be little, that's your prerogative."

Totally forgetting that he shouldn't be laughing, Puck starts giggling, then groaning and giggling. "Really? Who are you and what have you done with our Mercedes?"

Mercedes gives them a lazy shrug and sings, "Blame it on the goose, got me feelin' loose…" Artie throws up his 'preach' hand. "Blame it on the a-a-a-a-alcohol."

"Girl that run you just did, _illegal_."

She rolls her eyes at Artie. "Yeah, I'm good for hitting those at the end of a song."

"Please, you're more than just that." Mercedes turns a lazy eye on Puck. "C'mon, even I know that your voice fits with everyone. You compliment every singer, but you're good enough to shine on your own too."

Mercedes and Puck look over at Artie, who is laughing manically. "Cedes, you're our LBD."

Very slowly she says, "Little Black Dress?"

Frowning, Puck says, "I know we're hung over, but that doesn't make any sense. I was talking about her singing, not her sense of fashion."

"She goes with everything _and_ she can still hold it down on her own. And the 'D' is for diva, not dress."

"Well _excuse_ me for not having ovaries. How the heck was I supposed to know what the 'D' stood for? Up until a minute ago I didn't even know what the 'L' and the 'B' stood for." Artie gives Puck the dirtiest look he can muster. Puck returns the favor, and after about ten seconds of intense man-staring, they start laughing, and then groaning while laughing.

Mercedes just sits there thinking, _Trippin._

…_oOo…END Flashback (The morning after Rachel Berry House Party Train Wreck Extravaganza)…oOo…_

Thanks to her little flashback, Mercedes once again forgets.

Finding herself in the arms of Blaine and Kurt, Rachel starts shaking her head 'no' at Mr. Schue's request. Pulling away from the couple, very quietly she says, "For the first time in my life, I can't hear the music. I have no song to sing because I can't hear anything. It's all empty. When I look inside it's just dark. I can't even feel anything…but pain."

Emma starts with, "Now kids I-"

But Brittany cuts her off. "Rachel, that's not true." Rachel turns dark eyes on Brittany. "I can still see the love in you." After breaking her eye lock with Rachel, Brittany motions for the group to come closer. "It's still there. I know it's hard to feel right now, but I can still see it."

"Really?" Brittany nods her head yes at Santana. "Cuz it hurts so bad, there can't be room for love."

"There's always room for love." Even as she wraps her arms around Santana, Brittany is looking past the group at Mercedes and Sam, saying, "I love you."

Without thinking about it, Mercedes answers her back, saying, "I love you too." Brittany's eyes fill with tears, as she looks at Sam. He gives her a soft smile. Looking around in utter dismay, Mercedes asks, "Sam please tell me what's going on?"

"Don't blink."

The room is spinning just like everything did that day on the tilt-a-whirl. But just like that day, those green eyes never waver. Everything around Mercedes fades to shades of gray and then to black, and Sam's green eyes are all that remained. "Oh my God. No. No, no, no, no, no, NO! This is not happening." Sam gives her an apologetic look. "You knew?"

"Yeah. Things look different on this side." She can only see him.

"Where is everyone?"

He smiles. "They're all still here. You're just in shock."

She takes her hands and cups his face. "Oh my God. Thi—this happened to you too?"

Sam shakes his head no. "I could feel you, better than anyone else. Your heart was so bright and strong. I was never lost."

Mercedes looks down and for the first time she can see the band of light. It was white, but still contained all colors, and yet it was still transparent at the same time. No matter how she moves it stays constant, bright, and pulsing. And it is always connected to Sam. "What is it?" She touches it with her fingers and sees the answer before he can say it.

"Love; ours. True and strong."

"I know. I touch it and I see your eyes and a million different ways to trace our love." She can see another band. It's thinner, fainter, but there none the less. Twirling it around her fingers, she sees Finn. He's no longer gray, but standing right where she'd last seen him. She touches the others and slowly but surely everyone she holds dear comes back to her. Lacing her fingers with Sam's, she walks around the stage, marveling at the hundreds of bands weaving around the room. There were ones as bright and as strong as her Sam connection, connecting Rachel and Finn, Mr. Schue and Ms. Pillsbury, and even Santana and Brittany. Puck's was connected to someone not in the room. Unable to resist, Mercedes reaches out and touches it lightly. She laughs when she sees whose face is on the other end.

"Yeah, he'll get it right _eventually_." He pulls her in close. "I'm sorry that I couldn't tell you sooner, but you had to see it for yourself. The only thing left worth seeing is love and it's everywhere. So much for so many people. So much for you; so much for me."

Pulling back, looking him in the eyes she says, "I never woke up did I?" Sam shakes his head no. "I should have listened to you and gotten in the car." He just shrugs, unsure how to answer. "I should have known that snow is not warm. You knew; you tried to tell me." He nods his head. "And you stayed for me?"

"I told you that I wasn't leaving and I meant it."

Her face falls, and her eyes cloud. "But you were all alone. I wasn't there for you. Nobody was."

Sam points to the band between them. "You were always there. I never saw that car coming and they never saw me. I didn't feel a thing. I blinked and I was at the bottom of that ditch. I blinked my eyes again and I was with you in your room." He places a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Time is something for the living."

"So you waited."

"Always." He offers her his arm. "C'mon, I have something to show you."

Mercedes can't help but look at her friends with a heavy heart. "They'll be alright?"

Sam takes her hand and places it over his heart, while at the same time placing his hand over hers. Brushing his lips across the top of her free hand, he whispers, "Blink."

_Blink…._

The New Directions winning Nationals.

_Blink…._

Rachel's Broadway debut.

_Blink…._

Blaine and Kurt bringing their little boy home for the first time.

_Blink…._

Mr. Schue and Ms. Pillsbury's wedding.

_Blink…._

Quinn's book about 'Quinnependence' on the NY Times Best Sellers List.

_Blink…._

Puck giving Beth away at her wedding.

_Blink…._

Artie walking across the stage at graduation.

_Blink…._

Back in the auditorium.

"See, they'll be fine."

"I still want to say goodbye. To sing them one last song."

"I know you do, but you can't."

Frowning, Mercedes asks, "Why could we all see you in class the other day?"

"Best I can figure is we really are a family. I wanted to be there for you so bad, and hadn't quite worked out how I was going to make it work, and the next thing I know Finn could see me in the choir room. We may have put each other through some pretty rough stuff, but underneath it all, we really do care."

"So why can't they see me now?"

"Because it doesn't work that way. They know the truth now and their eyes won't accept the lie." Brittany is looking at them again.

"But Brittany can still see us?"

"Yeah."

"Figures." Brittany gives them a little finger wave good-bye.

"C'mon Mercedes, it's time."

_...Cowboy take me away_

_Fly this girl as high as you can_

_Into the wild blue_

_Set me free oh I pray_

_Closer to heaven above and_

_Closer to you…_

_Closer to you_

* * *

><p><strong>End Notes:<strong>

As much as I grumble about the show, there is no denying that I love (most of) the characters so much. This one-shot caused me pain on so many different levels to write, but I really needed to do it. I have been in such a writing funk for weeks now, and this one-shot collected all of the mess that's been floating around in my head and got it out.

I also love Ms. Whitney Houston, and her music just slipped its way into this sad little story too. I Wanna Dance with Somebody, I Will Always Love You, and her duet with Enrique Iglesias, Could I Have This Kiss Forever were referenced in the story. She will be missed.

Sorry, I guess they can't all be perfect fluffy clouds of rainbows, unicorns, and bunnies. But you don't even need to squint to see the love woven throughout this unconventional Valentine's Day tale.

And 'Cowboy Take Me Away' is by the Dixie Chicks (because Sam is a little bit country and so am I).

If you're still with me at this point, then I thank you so much for seeing it through to the end.


End file.
